The Danish Mermaid
by Shatterdoll
Summary: In which the 'mermaid' is a merman, the prince is a jerk, the merfolk are warmongers, and alcohol is of more interest than true love. A fairy tale. Nordic and Germanic central. Slight romance.
1. Chapter 1

Hey kids~ I enjoyed doing a fairytale using Hetalia characters so much I thought I'd do it again. This time it's much more lighthearted! Also I really love Hans Christian Andersen~ This story is a mixture of his version, Disney's version, and my own details thrown in. Dedicated entirely to Naroki, for if she hadn't suggested the idea in the first place, launching a hilarious and epic discussion, I never would have thought of it~

Søren is the name I'm using for Denmark. Elias is Norway. The mermaid family is the Germanic family -laughs- Sweden is technically part of that family but he just works better as Denmark's servant/friend rather than brother. I promise I'm not leaving him out.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia or The Little Mermaid in any of its forms. I also do not have rights over Part of Your World (yes, the song in this is exactly fashioned after it so imagine that music to the lyrics).

* * *

Once upon a time, deep beneath the sea, there was a grand kingdom. The inhabitants were a fierce race of mermaids and mermen. Though fair of face with lush blond hair and pale blue eyes and creamy skin, their blood was cold as ice and their hearts much the same.

This cold race was ruled by their great King Germania, who controlled the Northern seas with an iron fist. He had eight heirs in all. The youngest was but a child nicknamed H.R. by his siblings. Though still a youth he was quite ambitious and had a fighting spirit.

After him was Germania's daughter Lili, who was very lovely and beloved by the people despite her gentler nature. Though delicate she had a determined heart that was admired.

Lili's fierce guardian was the King's next oldest son, Vash. Quick tempered and protective, he was also a master at creating and wielding weapons.

Next above him was Ludwig. Serious, quiet, short-tempered, and hardworking. He made a model warrior, though his great tactical plans were sometimes overambitious and he occasionally showed a cruel streak impressive even among his own kind.

Above him was Roderich, whose rich brown hair was a rarity. He was considered a bit of a failure in the eyes of the King as he was superior at composing beautiful music rather than wielding a sword. His marriage with a strong mermaid named Elizabeta from a neighboring kingdom finally redeemed him.

The second oldest was Gilbert. He could be described as both a damned fool and one of the greatest warriors in the kingdom. His fierceness and genius on the battlefield was legendary. Unfortunately, so was his ability to annoy everyone in the room in a second's time. He was very fond of Ludwig and Roderich, much to their dismay.

And finally there was the oldest son, Søren. It would be unfair to say he did not fit in. He was as vicious a warrior as the best of them, almost mad one might say, the way he bravely rushed in and hacked his enemies down single-handedly. In that respect the King had no qualms with his eldest son.

However, there was no way to ignore the fact that in other ways he completely did not fit in. It was irksome but he simply could not put his finger on what was off about Søren other than the fact that when not fighting he turned into a laid-back fool, too similar to Gilbert for his liking.

And as of late his eldest son's behavior had become an issue due to a peculiar problem that plagued all of them. They had survived for most of their existence as great warriors but the time of war had come and gone and they found themselves perplexed. What was there to do now that there were currently no battles to be won?

And so they gradually all did their best to explore new ways to survive the day to day without the thrill of war...

~.

A beautiful mermaid pulled herself onto a rock, long flowing hair sticking to her voluptuous form. She turned her pale blue eyes to the cloudy sky and opened her mouth. A song as sweet as honey and sugar poured from her lips as the water lapped against her tail. A song of love and adventure and-

She was rudely interrupted when a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her into the water. She spluttered as a merman quickly took her place on the rock. "Get lost, ya damned tart!"

She glared at him for a moment before she realized who she was looking at. "P-Prince Søren! My apologies, I-"

"Yeah whatever, get out of here." He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it off to one side.

"...Yes, m'lord, sorry m'lord." She pouted and dived back into the water.

A moment later a second merman popped out of the water. He had a sweet, innocent face which was currently drawn in worry. "Søren, that wasn't necessary..."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Come on Tino, she was in my spot. And really, do we always have to sing? Every day and every night we're always singing! Ugh, it disgusts me. Aren't we supposed to be the fiercest warriors in the sea? It's pathetic!"

"But you sing too Søren. We all do."

The prince made a sound of disgust. "I know! What's up with that? Like a bad twitch that can't be stopped... If I had my way no merperson would ever sing again!"

Half a face poked out of the water, eyes glaring fiercely at Søren. A moment later it raised fully out of the water to reveal a terrifying expression. "Y're just jealous 'cause y' can't sing."

"I suck! I know I suck, don't rub it in! Now give me the bottle Berwald."

Berwald rose from the water and threw a heavy glass bottle at Søren's head. He barely caught it. "Whoa now! Careful there, you almost hit me."

Berwald seemed to frown even more. "Hurm."

Tino leaned his torso on an open spot on the rock, arms folded. "You really shouldn't do this. You know your father has forbidden anyone from drinking human alcohol."

Søren bit the cork and pulled hard with his teeth, spitting it out into the water. "Well what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I don't understand how he can't love it! It's the best thing in all of existence. Almost better than war!"

Tino gasped. "Don't even say that out loud Søren! If someone were to hear... It would be horrible for you!"

Berwald rested on the rock next to Tino. "Say it louder."

Søren grinned. "Damn straight Berwald! I should be able to say it as loud as I please!"

Tino frowned at Berwald before turning back to his prince. "Please Søren, it isn't worth it!"

Søren sneered before taking a long drink from the bottle. "Ah~ That is lovely stuff. These humans have the right idea! Ever since we won the war with the shark people it is the only thing that brings me any form of happiness. Instead of fighting all there is for me to do is drink and watch the humans fight."

He sighed. "What kind of life is that?"

Tino reached up and touched Søren's arm. "Please, there is more to life. You can always get married?"

Søren cackled. "Oh good one Tino. I have no interest in anyone. Some nagging mermaid trying to tell me what to do and how to spend my time? In song form no less? I think not. I've seen how Roderich's woman has run of their little relationship. The only reason to marry is for convenience anyway, and as we are at peace there is no reason to do it."

Tino sighed. "Someday there will be more wars. Just hold strong until then Søren. You can do it, isn't that right Berwald?"

"Nope."

Tino shot Berwald a frustrated look. "Of course you can!"

Søren shook his head. "Thanks Tino, but Berwald knows me well. I'm going to go crazy before then. If I don't have the alcohol I won't make it."

He took a final swig of it before handing the bottle to Tino. "Here, the two of you can have some if you want. I feel like being by myself for a while... You know where to find me if you need me."

He waved to his two attendants and (somewhat forced) friends before sliding into the water. Tino pushed the bottle away and looked at the sky apprehensively. "What will we ever do about him Berwald? If the King finds out about his behavior he is sure to be furious..."

Berwald touched Tino's shoulder lightly. Tino turned and Berwald brought his face closer. Tino's eyes widened and they stared at each other for a moment.

"...I'm sorry... but I really have no idea what you want when you're making that scary face at me Berwald."

Tino put some distance between them and swam a few feet. "Come on, we should go to Søren."

Berwald's expression didn't change as he took after Tino. "Hurm."

~.

Søren looked around before slipping into a hole formed by two rocks. It was completely inconspicuous from the outside but from within it was a true wonder. Inside was a cave filled with all of the alcohol he had ever found in the storage of sunken ships.

Looking around he was filled with warmth and much to his horror felt a song welling up. Damn it. There was no denying it and he began to sing.

_Look at this booze_

_Isn't it neat?_

_Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?_

_Wouldn't you think I'm the guy_

_The guy who's tried everything.  
_

_Look at this trove_

_Spirits untold_

_How much booze can one cavern hold? _

_Looking around here you think_

_Sure, he's got everything._

_I've got liquor and brandy a-plenty_

_I've got beer and ciders galore_

_You want aged wine?_

_1520! _

_But who cares? _

_No big deal_

_I want mooooooooore _

_I wanna be where the booze is made_

_I wanna see, wanna see it flowin'_

_Pouring out from those – what do you call 'em?_

_Oh – kegs! _

_Livin' underwater, can't drink too hard_

_Air is required for drinkin', indulging_

_Sitting around in a -what's that word again?_

_Bar!_

_Up where there's gin, up where there's rum, _

_oh lord how I want sooooooome _

_Drinkin' free – wish I could be_

_Part of that woooooorld_

_What would I lose if I could booze out of these waters?_

_What would I say to spend a day passed out in the sand? _

_Bet'cha on land they understand_

_That being sobers overrated_

_Proper drinkin' now I'm thinkin'_

_That'd be graaaaaand_

_And I'm ready to drink what the people drink_

_Ask 'em my questions and get some answers_

_What is vodka and why does it - what's the word? _

_Buuuuuurn? _

_When's it my turn?_

_Wouldn't I love, love to get smashed on those shores up above?_

_Out of this sink_

_Wish I could drink_

_In that wooooooorld _

Finally the torment ended and he clutched his throat. "Ech!"

"Y' really suck."

Berwald and Tino watched him from the entrance and Søren flushed. "Y-you heard that? Augh! How embarrassing... I hate being a merman! Humans don't randomly burst into song. Do they?"

Tino shrugged and Berwald gave him his usual intensely blank stare. Søren shook his head. "No, I doubt it. They are so lucky. They don't sing unless they feel like it, they drink as much as they want, and it seems their wars are even more constant than ours."

Tino shook his head. "Don't talk like that Søren..."

Denmark swam among the bottles upon bottles, admiring their unique shapes and colors. "I'm sorry, I'm just restless. And father isn't happy with me, I know that much."

He ran his fingers lovingly over the smooth glass of a bottle of wine. Someday... Someday the booze of the world above would be his.

~.

After a typical rowdy dinner—in which Gilbert put something on Roderich's food that made him sick and Vash nearly beat him to death for being a poor role model—Søren snuck off. He wasn't even in the mood to be with his two good friends.

He wanted to watch the show alone.

Gliding silently through the icy waters, Søren broke surface. The air immediately boomed and cracked in a way that echoed. He had gotten there just in time. The battle was on.

Søren quickly swam towards two boats that were firing upon each other. He stayed just on the edge of the perimeter of safety, watching the two ships battle it out. The sky was alive with the sound of canon fire, shouting, the roar of the sea. The night was set ablaze by a huge fire that was overtaking one of the ships. Heavy smoke choked the air.

God what a thrill. Søren soaked it in, body tingling at the memory of war. He couldn't help but get closer. At that point it was obvious who the victor was. A pity too. He had seen the defeated ship in battle many times before. It was usually glorious in battle. Obviously something had gone wrong. He wished he hadn't missed so much to know what it was.

Men began to jump into the water from the burning, sinking deck. Søren watched with grim amusement. He could taste the victory of the other ship. He knew the feeling well...

Everything went out of Søren's head as a figure emerged through the smoke, face illuminated by the fire like a piece of finally crafted art. A boy...no a man of slender build stood at the edge of the ship. It was somewhat hard to tell from this distance but his hair was so pale it all but blended into the smoke. Even from so far away Søren knew he was beautiful.

Søren swam closer, so filled with curiosity he became unaware of all else around him. The man had not gone to the edge to jump off. He stood his ground firmly, a serious and unafraid expression on his face. He looked out to the sea intently, as if saying a final farewell. There was something about him that screamed of quiet dignity and fierce pride. Søren was fascinated.

There was suddenly a blow that hit near the stoic figure. The man was thrown off the side of the ship, hitting the icy water hard. He did not emerge. Søren felt intense panic and dived underwater. He had to save him.

He looked around in a panic before finally spotting the limp body. Søren grabbed it and quickly dragged him back to the surface. Holding the man's head above water, he carried him carefully through the water to the shore.

After what seemed an eternity he dragged him onto dry land, no easy task once they got further away from the water and his tail became useless. The man was shivering quite violently and Søren tried to rub warmth into his limbs.

The man abruptly stirred and began to cough harshly. Søren helped him turn onto his side as he coughed up water. The man put a hand up weakly to his face. "My eyes...I can't see."

Søren stared at him. He really was beautiful, more so than he had originally thought. "I am sure it's only the smoke. They should be fine in no time so don't you worry."

The man clutched one of hands. "I am sorry, I can barely hear you. But thank you. Who are you?"

Søren looked up as he heard the sounds of approaching voices. The glow of a light appeared. It would be a matter of moments before humans came. They would care for this man. "That's not important. All that matters is that you are home."

He pressed his hand lightly over the man's heart before pulling away. The man sat up, a hand still covering his eyes. "Wait! Come back!"

But Søren was already gone, back into the waves. By the time the party had reached the man there was not even a trace of him in the black water.

"My god! It's Prince Elias! Quickly, we must get him warm!"

Hands grabbed at him, helping him to his feet. "Can you see him?"

The words went unheeded in the confusion.

"Can't you see him?"

* * *

**AN: **I can't do Sweden's accent to save my life but I tried... And I just love what a dick he is to Denmark, seriously~ **  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all~ So this chapter took a while to write because I was having trouble figuring out how to organize it. Sorry about that. Next one shouldn't take so long.

Also I am using the name Ari for Iceland. It was hard to find a name for him because Icelandic names are so manly and Iceland...is not -laughs- His face is too pretty for a really manly name. But Ari IS a boys name.

* * *

The next few days passed and a morning began that was not so different than others. Roderich helped H.R. get ready, Gilbert continuously stuck random items in Ludwig's hair no matter how many times he got smacked, and Vash yelled at everyone. However, Søren wasn't his usual rambunctious self. His mind was on the man he had saved a few nights ago. In fact he had been thinking about him a lot lately. Was he alright? Should he have even bothered? What had possessed him to save the man anyway?

Vash smacked the back of his head. "Hey, what's your problem? You going to float around with your head in the seaweed all day?"

Søren blinked. "Oops, sorry."

He swam off, still with a thoughtful expression on his face. His brothers watched him curiously. Gilbert raised an eyebrow as he stuck a seashell in Ludwig's hair. "I wonder what his problem is. He's been like that for a while."

Ludwig smacked his hand and pulled the seashell from his hair. "I am starting to worry about him. Maybe all this peace is getting to him."

Lili and Elizabeta appeared looking fresh and vibrant. "Good morning. Is something the matter with Søren? He just passed by us and he looks so distracted."

Roderich sighed at his wife's question. "We were just discussing that ourselves. He has been like that for a while. Always distracted, not paying attention. It is a bit troublesome."

Elizabeta and Lili looked at each other and suddenly smiled knowingly. Lili giggled. "Do you think he's...?"

Elizabeta nodded excitedly. "I bet he is!"

Vash began to comb Lili's hair with his fingers, frowning. "He's what?"

Both girls giggled again and Lili arrested Vash's movements with her delicate hands. "In love!"

The brothers all stared at them disbelievingly. Suddenly Gilbert began to cackle. "In love! As if he would be. Søren is hardly the type!"

Elizabeta glared at him. "And why not? He's always distracted, sort of off in his own world. What else could it be?"

"A lack of manly bloodshed!" Gilbert retorted. Elizabeta began to hit him repeatedly and the others ignored them.

"Big brother is in love?" H.R. asked, tugging on Ludwig's arm.

Ludwig coughed uncomfortably. "I... have no idea."

Gilbert finally escaped Elizabeta's brutal beating. "I say we follow him and find out!"

Vash immediately locked his arms around Lili protectively. "That is so idiotic it hurts. I don't care what he is doing so long as he isn't getting into trouble. And Lili is absolutely not getting dragged into one of your stupid plots. And don't even think of dragging in H.R. either!"

Elizabeta grabbed Roderich's arm. "And while I would usually love to be nosy in this sort of thing I don't want my Roderich doing anything with you. I have my own ways to figure these things out."

Gilbert turned to Ludwig and grinned expectantly. "...No."

"Oh come on! No one else will! It will be completely awesome and maybe we can mess with him!" He started tugging roughly on Ludwig's arm.

"I said no! Leave Søren alone Gil. If he wants to talk about it he will. Besides, sneaking around is not honorable."

Gilbert glowered at all of them. "You guys are so boring! Finally we have something to do and none of you are interested. Well I'm going all by myself and that is just awesome with me. Being by myself is the best!"

As he swam off to find Søren the others watched him go. It was none of their business. And, well, if Gilbert did figure something out he would be blabbing it to them in no time.

~.

Tino followed after Søren. "Won't you please tell us what's wrong? You have been so distant for days! Ever since you went off to watch that battle. Did something happen?"

Søren shook his head distractedly. "I appreciate both of your concern-" Berwald snorted. "But I don't really feel like talking about it. I have to sort this out myself I think. I'm going to try and think it out on the surface... after picking out the appropriate beverage of course. Can you just give me a little bit of time to myself? I promise I'm fine."

Søren smiled reassuringly and parted with them. Tino frowned with worry. "...Do you think we should give him space?"

"Y'p."

"But doesn't that make us bad frie-"

"N'pe."

Tino stared hard at Berwald who returned the gaze. And of course when it came to stare offs Berwald always won. Tino averted his gaze. "But what if the prince needs support?"

Berwald touched his shoulder and Tino looked up. "...Yes?"

If anything Berwald's expression seemed to get even scarier and Tino inwardly flinched. He looked so scary sometimes! And he wasn't sure what he wanted but it always made Tino really uncomfortable when they were alone and Berwald looked at him that way. It wasn't that he disliked Berwald, it was just so intimidating. "U-uh- I-"

Gilbert's voice cut through the tension. "Hey! You two always hang out with Søren right? You know where he went off to?"

Berwald gave him an annoyed look but Tino was relieved. "O-oh Søren? Y-you know, I don't actually-"

"C've f'rmed by th' two r'cks near th' seaweed field. 'S a h'le y' sl'p into b'tween th' r'cks. 'S wh're he is." Berwald pointed him in the right direction. Offering Berwald a grin and a small salute as thanks, Gilbert hurried off in the direction he pointed.

Tino stared at Berwald in disbelief. "Wh-why did you tell him where Søren is? He might get into trouble!"

"...D'n't care." Was Berwald's stiff reply.

Tino gave him a look of distress. "I don't know why you have to give Prince Søren such a hard time. He really likes you! Can't you just... try a little harder?"

Berwald stared at him for a long moment, the panic he felt inside completely unapparent on his face. "...S'ppose I could try."

The words made Tino's face brighten. "Really?" Berwald quickly nodded, happy to have pleased Tino. "W-well alright. I suppose we should probably go catch up to Gilbert. We can't stop him but maybe one of us can divert his attention while the other warns Søren."

"Warns Søren of what?" An imposing voice boomed behind them. They turned and found themselves the targets of King Germania's fierce glare. Tino cringed and quickly bowed his head, Berwald doing so after a delayed pause. "Well?"

Tino stared hard at the ocean floor, a hot blush of fear and embarrassment blooming across his face. "I- Th-that is, n-nothing your maje-"

"Silence!" Tino quickly closed his mouth, trembling. "I have been looking for him. Apparently his behavior has been very odd for a while now. Tell me where he is."

Berwald broke in before Tino could think of a quick lie to buy more time, stretching out his hand to indicate the proper direction. "S'cret c've f'rmed by th' two r'cks near th' seaweed field."

Germania stared at him severely for a moment then nodded his head. "As you were."

As he swam off Tino turned a disbelieving look on him. "Berwald! You said you would try!"

He met Tino's glance levelly. "I d'd."

Groaning softly Tino began to wring his hands. "Søren will be in so much trouble if his father finds out about his cove! All that alcohol. Oh Berwald what should we do?"

"...N'thing." Berwald finally said.

Tino braced himself and met Berwald's eyes unwaveringly. "Why are you always so mean to Prince Søren? He really thinks you're his friend! But you always try to get him into trouble and he doesn't even realize it. Why?"

"I do it b'cause..." Berwald looked away for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. Finally he met Tino's gaze again, expression dead serious. Or more dead serious than it usually was. "...I d'n't like h'm."

Tino, who had been holding his breath waiting for the answer, released it in a somewhat deflated manner. "...That's not a very good reason. He is our prince after all and even if it's a little unorthodox he thinks of us as his friends."

When Berwald simply remained an unreadable wall, as per usual, Tino turned away. "We better go see if there's anything we can do for Søren, he's sure to be in for it."

As he began to swim away Berwald's face reddened slightly and he quietly murmured, "And b'cause I l'ke y' b't he's all y' ev'r th'nk about."

Clenching his fist for a moment he finally took after the younger merman, soon catching up and swimming beside him.

~.

Søren had just decided on a bottle of rum when he heard something that made his already chilled blood freeze further. "Damn! What is this? Søren, you've been holding out on me!"

Turning quickly, Søren gaped as Gilbert turned slowly looking at the walls of booze. "Wh-what are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"Pft, like that matters. Seriously, look at all this alcohol! It...it makes me want to burst into song!"

Søren clamped a hand over Gilbert's mouth. "Don't. Ugh, this is a disaster. You can't keep your mouth shut about anything."

Gilbert pushed him off. "I so can! And if you let me partake in some of this then I definitely can keep my mouth shut. It'll be too occupied chugging down booze, right?"

This set off all sorts of warning bells. If Gilbert had found him then who knew if someone else might? Something to consider. "Fine, I don't mind if you have any but you really can't tell anyone about this."

With a grin Gilbert began to examine some of the tightly sealed bottles. "Of course not! Then we'd have to share more. So this is why you've been so weird lately eh? All of us have been wondering you know. Looking all out of it all the time."

Staring hard at the bottle of rum for a moment, Søren spoke softly. "Have I...? Hm, I guess so. Something...well it's nothing really. I just-"

When Søren glanced up it was apparent that Gilbert was more interested in his alcohol collection than his reasons for being preoccupied. Oh well, probably best not to tell him anyway. Especially when he didn't quite get it himself. "So where did you find all of this?"

"Mm oh here and there. It's amazing how much of it gets dumped on accident or from battles. Pretty great right?"

"Tell me about it! What with Father forbidding it and all it's so hard to get a taste of it."

With a little more pride than was probably necessary Søren began to showcase his collection. Tino was always so nervous about it and Berwald didn't much care so it was pleasant to have a fellow enthusiast for the drink to show it off to.

Søren paused as he heard shifting towards the entrance of the cove. "...No one followed you did they?"

Gilbert frowned, warily watching the spot as well. "Nah, no one wanted to come with me."

They both stiffened and cried out in panic when their Father squeezed his way through the entrance with some difficulty. Søren sharply smacked the back of Gilbert's head. "Look what you've done now you damned fool!"

Gilbert rubbed the back of his head and glowered at him. "Me? I didn't do anything!"

He retaliated for the smack with a punch to Søren's stomach. The two begin to fight viciously as King Germania looked around with increasing displeasure. Finally his voice rang out sharply as he grabbed them both on the back of the neck. "Enough!"

The two cringed and settled down, staring at their father. "Have the two of you been collecting all of this?"

His tone was cold while suggesting a deeper flame of wrath just below the surface. Gilbert kept very quiet. To rat out his brother was dishonorable and while he hated getting in trouble for something he didn't do—or hadn't even gotten to enjoy—he'd prefer that than being a coward.

Despite his brother's noble intent, Søren had no intention of letting him take that unnecessary fall. "No. It is only me. Gilbert just now found out about it. The blame is completely mine."

King Germania studied both of his sons and finally released Gilbert. "Leave. Now."

Gilbert opened his mouth to protest but a very sharp look from his father sent him reluctantly heading towards the entrance. He had an idea of what was to happen and it was a total waste. Damn, too bad he hadn't found out about the collection sooner. He mostly hoped Søren didn't get it too bad. Their father was almost cruelly strict.

Once Gilbert had left King Germania fixed Søren in a stern gaze. "What is the meaning of all of this?"

Søren lifted his head and met his father's gaze steadily. "I have been collecting various types of alcohol from wrecks and that have been lost from general carelessness for a long time now."

"You know this is forbidden! How dare you disobey me?" King Germania's eyes flashed dangerously but Søren barely flinched.

"But why? I don't understand! It's such a waste to just let it rot! It tastes wonderful, so why can't we have it?"

"It is dangerous for our people! If we are allowed to drink it then we have a hard time resisting. This makes us weak in times of war! You would dare endanger everyone for such an unnecessary luxury?"

Søren couldn't help himself from snorting. "But we aren't in war time! It's the only thing worth doing anymore. And I'm not endangering everyone! It's not like I'm shouting about it. Besides, I drink it just fine without having problems, and I can drink a lot. Besides, I'm twenty years old. I think I have a right to do as I please!"

"Oh you think so?" King Germania hit him sharply across the face. "You dare speak back to me? Question me? _Defy_ me? Get out now!"

Gritting his teeth, Søren wiped at his split lip, his blood diluting quickly and adding a twinge of red to the water for a moment. The two glared at each other for a moment and finally, very slowly, Søren turned away and squeezed through the exit just as he heard the first bottle break.

Arms crossed tightly, muttering under his breath about how unfair it was, Søren waited. And as he did so Berwald and Tino appeared. Tino seemed breathless and worried. Berwald looked... like Berwald.

Tino stopped in front of him. "P-Prince Søren, I, um... that is...Y-your brother and father-"

Søren cut him off. "Know my secret? Yes I am aware of that. Stupid Gilbert probably lead Father right to me. He's so unobservant!"

"A-actually...um..." Tino looked at Berwald nervously.

Berwald looked back then met Søren's eyes. "Y'p m'st be it."

Tino gave him a look of disbelief but Søren was already speaking before he could even think of correcting him. "Doesn't surprise me. God I'm so sick of this! All of this... It took me forever to collect all of that and he's destroying it! No booze, no war...I'm bored! I...I want to go to the surface!"

Tino gasped. "Y-you don't mean that Søren! There is nothing good about the surface, you know that! They're...barbarians!"

"I don't care! At least they're interesting. If only there was some- Wait! Isn't there that, what was it? Sea...witch or warlock or whatever, Ari? Supposedly he has magical abilities. Maybe he can do something to help me!"

Søren started to swim away and Tino grabbed his arm tightly. "Please don't, Prince Søren! You don't want to be a human!"

Søren shook him off. "Look, I'm sorry. I like both you and Berwald and I know you will miss me horribly but it's either stay here, get beaten, and be bored or go to the surface and finally get to be free! I...I have to do this! Or at least give it a shot."

Tino turned his large blue eyes to Berwald. "P-please, tell him he should stay!"

Berwald stared at Tino then looked at Søren, who was regarding him almost curiously. Berwald opened his mouth and a few flat words of song fell from his mouth.

_Und'r th' sea. Und'r th' sea. D'wn wh're it's-_

"Y' should go to th' s'rface."

Søren broke into a huge grin. "Thank you for understanding Berwald. Take care of Tino and cover for me!"

He continued to swim away quickly and Berwald held Tino back. "P-Prince Søren!"

"H'pe y' g't hit by a h'rpoon."

Tino quickly turned his face up to the man holding him. "Berwald! Don't say that, we have to stop him!" Berwald simply stared down at him until Tino felt very uncomfortable. "U-uh...B-Berwald?"

Suddenly King Germania squeezed out of the entrance to the cove. His cold eyes slid over the underwater landscape then came to rest on Berwald and Tino. "Where has my idiot son gone to?"

Tino opened his mouth but Berwald spoke first. "B'ck to th' c'stle."

King Germania nodded. "I am going to beat him within an inch of his life...Best not linger here."

With that he swam off back towards the kingdom. Tino looked up at Berwald. "Why didn't you tell him the truth? He would have stopped him!"

Berwald blinked down at him. "...I tried c'vering f'r S'ren, l'ke y' w'nted me to."

"Not now Berwald! That wasn't the time to listen to me!" Tino sighed in frustration. "Come on, we have to go after him."

"...Why?"

"Berwald! Please?" Tino gave him a pleading look. He wasn't strong enough to get Søren back on his own. But Berwald could drag him away from danger.

"...Hurm."

Tino perked up a bit. "Thank you!"

Berwald nodded once, looking less pleased than usual. And without further clipped discussion about it they went after Søren.

~.

The cove where the sea-warlock lived was in an area where Søren's kind rarely went. Not because they were afraid but because the warriors had little patience or need for magic. It was darker there, colder. Søren looked around himself curiously.

As he reached the path to the sea-warlock's cove he found the path covered in odd slimy creatures that tried to pull at his fin. He flicked his tail and brushed them away impatiently. He was no different than his family and had no fear in his heart of the sea-warlock or his home. Yet while coming there had been his idea, he could not shake off his skepticism completely. And so he paused at the entrance, which spilled odd colored light onto the wavering water before him.

While he was still debating back and forth on the matter a soft but firm voice called out to him from within. "Have you come to see me or not?"

Søren jumped at the words and squinted, trying to peer into the cavern and see who it was. "Er...Are you...Ari? The sea-warlock?"

"Hmm, yes. I might be. What do you want?"

Søren didn't know how he felt about holding a conversation with a disembodied voice. "...I was... wondering if there was something you could do for me. A problem I need help with."

There was a pause. "Very well. Come in and I shall see if I feel like granting your wish."

The words were foreboding, Søren could feel something telling him to leave. But his desire to escape outweighed his instinct for self-preservation and with a deep breath he ventured into the unknown.

* * *

**AN: **Still working on Sweden's accent but it'll never be perfect -laughs- Also I bet Germania had some of that alcohol. Tsk tsk.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi~ I'm rather pleased. I got this written in a day and had very, very little problems with it. I wish everything I wrote was such smooth sailing. Especially because I went through a mini-writing block. More caused by a feeling of pressure than anything else. Bleh.

So I can tell some of you kids don't read my rambling intro notes **because **for some reason I got at least two comments commenting on Ari (Iceland) being England (Artie?). No. No, no, no. While it fits completely and I can see where some of you might have gotten that idea, it's Iceland. There are absolutely no characters in this that aren't Nordic or Germanic.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything to do with the song Poor Unfortunate Souls. The piece I did of this is after Ursula tells Ariel she wants her voice, I didn't do the whole song. It was...rather hard to do that small bit as is -laughs-

* * *

Entering the sea-warlock's cavern, Søren was struck by the strangeness of his surroundings. The water was far colder than he was used to. Strange lights illuminated a variety of odd bottles and vials. Odd... so very odd. It made Søren uneasy.

"Well? What is your wish?"

Something brushed against Søren's neck and he winced, quickly turning and falling into a defensive stance. Ari rested on a flat surface that naturally formed in the cavern wall, looking tremendously bored. His top half was that of a young man with silver hair that appeared tousled even in the water and blue eyes which regarded him coolly. However, instead of having a tail like Søren his lower half was that of an octopus, each tentacle shifting lazily with one reached out towards Søren.

Søren stared for a moment. It wasn't quite what he had expected. Certainly he hadn't expected someone so young or attractive. His mental image had been some old withered creature. "You...You're Ari?"

Ari leaned up, peering over the ledge at him. "Must I confirm my identity again? I have told you as much and I hardly see anyone else."

Søren tilted his head. He hadn't ever seen something like Ari, though he had heard of such creatures. The most exotic thing he had ever set eyes on were the shark people they had been at war with. "You are...an interesting one...I bet you can do some fun things with those tentacles of yours!"

He laughed and Ari gave him an annoyed look, slipping off the ledge. One of his tentacles wrapped up around his head, covering his mouth. "Oh yes, all sorts of fun things. Now do not insult me with your foolishness anymore or I will have you leave!"

After a moment longer the tentacle unwound and Søren wiped his mouth. "Right, right. Sorry. Anyway, I'm in the market for something that will get me up to the surface. I really don't care what it is so long as I can get far, far away from here."

Ari looked at him thoughtfully then swam around him, eyes never quite leaving him. "The surface you say? Yes, I haven't done something like that in a while but it can be done. Not so hard to do, either. And it's straightforward enough." Ari snapped his fingers and there was a small displacement in the water and a flash of light. When Søren opened his eyes he saw there was a glowing piece of parchment filled with words before him. "You will sign a contract and something of value must be exchanged. In this case, a set of legs for something of yours."

"Something...of mine? Wouldn't it just be my tail? Seems like a basic enough trade."

Ari, if possible, seemed even more irritated at him. "No, not your tail. That would be too easy. The usual deal that I make is for the voice. Mermaids have lovely voices."

Søren snorted. "My voice? That's a pretty raw deal on your part. My voice sucks! You really don't want it. But I guess..."

Ari quickly waved his hands. "No, no. If I'm going to get stuck with it I don't want it to be bad. Besides, I sort of like the voice I currently have. I will have to take something else from you."

"Mm...We could always have sex."

Ari smacked him with one of his tentacles. "Absolutely not! I need a talent of yours or something of the likes. What's something you're good at?"

Søren rubbed his cheek, muttering, "I'm good at sex." When it seemed Ari might hit him again he brushed back his hair and thought. "Not much I don't think. I mean, I'm great at war but I would never give up my ability to fight or strategize. I just couldn't do that. And...I don't know, I'm good at drinking. Isn't there something else I can trade?"

Sighing heavily, Ari was on the verge of kicking him out when he paused. "...That might work actually, your ability to drink."

Søren was taken aback. "What? And never be able to drink again? That's pretty much one of the only reasons I would even bother going up to the surface! No way would I trade that!"

"No, no. It's not like I would take your ability to drink completely. More rather, I would take your alcohol tolerance. So you could still drink. It would just result in near instant intoxication. I can leave you enough that you wouldn't die from even having a small cup. And I do like picking up odd talents. One never knows when they might come in handy."

Søren frowned deeply. "I still don't think so. I pride myself on my ability to drink. And what would I do on the surface when I could get my hands on everything I've ever wanted?"

Ari put an arm around him. "Really, it's not like it would prevent you from ever drinking again. Try a little bit at a time, enjoy the effects. It would force you to pace yourself, to stretch out your exploration. And anyway, it would be to your advantage among the humans."

Eyebrows furrowing, Søren stared at the contract uncertainly. "How so?"

With a small smile Ari suddenly burst into something that was a mixture of speaking and singing.

_To drink too much is really quite unseemly_

_The people up there don't really like a drunk!_

_Yes on the land there is a touch _

_of contempt for those who drink too much_

_And the more you chug the more you are sunk!_

_Someone who has a low toleration _

_and can drink a little and get an end result_

_is considered less a clown_

_to those who chug everything down_

_To bow out early is not a fault! _

_Now come you poor unfortunate soul_

_It's a bargain! _

_Don't you think?_

_I'm a very busy man and I haven't got all day_

_After all it's not like_

_You can't still drink!_

_Poor unfortunate soul_

_It's sad but true _

_I can tell you really want this _

_and that you're a total tool_

_A schmuck that doesn't know better_

_So sign you goddamn fool_

_You poor unfortunate soul!_

Once the last word had been drawn out Ari threw his head back and cackled. Søren clapped politely. "Not bad, though your pacing was a little off. Not that I can judge. Interesting word choice."

Ari cleared his throat. "My apologies. The thing about mermaid voices is I am sometimes compelled to sing. Never happened with my old voice. I never quite know what will come out. Anyway...You get the general gist of my point."

Søren sighed and scratched his head. "I don't know...I mean, I really like drinking and being able to do a lot of it. But if it will really serve me better to have a low tolerance above on land..."

"Yes, yes, anything you say. And you will be able to escape. Do whatever you please. Come now, the contract will grow cold and then it might not work properly."

"Mm, well...You do seem like a rather trustworthy guy. I have to wonder, why did you get into this particular trade? You seem a lot more sensible than all this magic stuff, no offense."

Ari gave him an exasperated look and said dryly, "I just love helping others so very much."

Søren smiled at him. "Aw, sweet little thing like you, how can I say no? Contract me!"

While Ari could hardly believe the idiot had actually believed him, he wasn't about to let a deal go. The business was a little slow these days... He would take what he could get. One of his tentacles reached over and grabbed a spike from a lionfish, dipped in a magical solution that served as ink. He offered it to Søren who took it eagerly enough. "I suppose I should warn you, there's one other tiny little clause."

Søren, about to lower the pen onto the contract, stopped his hand and looked up. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"If the Prince of this land gets married then you shall turn to sea foam once he and his bride are joined in matrimony."

Well that sounded pretty bad. Søren grunted. "This magic business is too complicated. Why in the sea would I care about a thing like that and what does it have to do with me?"

Ari shrugged. "All contracts are required to have one ridiculous, unnecessary clause. It's all part of the trade. Just make sure he never gets married and you'll be perfectly alright."

Søren had no idea what the prince looked like and was hardly impressed considering he was a prince himself. An heir to the throne at that, though he supposed this other fellow must be as well. Still...he could always find him and kill him or something. Shouldn't be too hard. Then he could escape to the human world and live however he wished.

Having thought it through, Søren decided it was rather agreeable and that it wasn't something he couldn't handle. "Very well, I think I can manage with those terms. I will have my legs, you get most, but not all damn it, of my alcohol tolerance, and I can't let the prince get married. That about it?"

Ari nodded, tentacles swishing agitatedly in anticipation. "That's about it. Now sign the dotted line and the deal will be complete."

For a moment Søren paused, had his doubts. Everything he was leaving... His family, his friends... Yeah, and a life that had become unbearably boring and oppressive. Resolution firmed, Søren reached down and started to sign.

Just at that moment Tino burst in, followed close behind by Berwald. "Prince Søren, no!"

It was too late. Søren looked up as he finished signing, a somewhat sheepish smile on his face. It quickly became stunned and he doubled over, light flashing around him. Ari snapped and the contract disappeared before reappearing in his hand, neatly rolled up.

He glanced at the horrified Tino and the apathetic Berwald. "I would help your friend if you want him to live. Soon he won't be able to breathe water."

Tino turned to Berwald, grabbing his arm tightly. "Berwald, help him please! Take him to the surface, I'm not strong enough!"

Berwald looked at him for a long moment. Bubbles suddenly burst from Søren's mouth and he put a hand up to cover it as the scales fell from his tail. "Berwald please! Before it's too late! For my sake if not for his!"

Berwald's eyes widened slightly and he finally nodded. He hurried forward and wrapped an arm around Søren, pulling him from the cavern and as quickly towards the surface as he could. Tino turned and glared at Ari, who seemed completely untroubled by the events that had just occurred.

Ari gave him a look of indifference and turned his back. "If you do not want something from me then go. I do not much care for company."

"You...You are terrible! I have no idea what kind of deal you made with Prince Søren but... but you shouldn't have done it! You'll be lucky if King Germania doesn't come for you!" Without waiting for a reply, Tino quickly swam out and up towards the surface. How he hoped Berwald had made it. Honestly he hadn't been sure if his final plea would have made much of a difference to the intimidating man. He wasn't quite certain how much of Berwald's scariness was purely physical and how much of it was personality but he had shown kindness and cooperation at times when Tino had least expected it. He was grateful Berwald had shown it on this occurrence.

Tino found Berwald waiting for him at the surface level supporting Søren, who seemed weak and slightly stunned. "Come on, let's take him to the nearest beach."

Tino helped support him. There was something wrong and it took him a while to finally realize that Søren's beautiful tail which had flashed red in the sunlight was gone, replaced by those fleshy legs the humans walked on. It sent a feeling of great sorrow through him.

It took longer than usual, what with Søren only able to half-heartedly help push along, but they finally reached dry land. Berwald would have been happy to dump him and leave but Tino settled down next to him, still half in the water. "Prince Søren? Prince Søren, can you hear me?"

Very slowly Søren sat up, blinking. It seemed he was coming out of his stupor. He turned his head and coughed, some water coming up. He spit and winced. "That...really hurt."

Tino took his hand and Berwald glared more than he usually did. "Why did you do it? Why? Look at you! You're... you're human!"

Søren looked down at his new legs and seemed puzzled for a moment. Then a grin slowly spread across his face. "Hey...Hey! Check it out, it really worked! I can be on land! This is great!"

Bracing himself, he turned slowly onto his knees and started to stand. It was painful, actually. Very much so. And it was a completely different sensation than swimming. Søren's determination outweighed any pain and he took slow, hesitant steps. His knees almost buckled and he caught himself.

Tino watched nervously as Søren practiced walking. Berwald nervously reached over and took one of his hands. The gesture startled him and he looked over at Berwald, who gave his hand a squeeze. It was actually quite... reassuring. If only he didn't look like he wanted to break Tino's hand.

Once Søren got used to walking he got bolder and after a little while he was running, laughing like a carefree child. His actions and nudity frightened away a picnicking couple that had been lost in their own world but he hardly had time to care. He hadn't ever felt anything like this. The sand against his new feet, which were ridiculous and hilarious looking things, felt pleasant and scratchy and warm. Despite the sharp prickling and discomfort it was completely exhilarating.

"Søren! Prince Søren!" Tino sighed in frustration. "We need to get him over here and talk to him about the deal he made."

Berwald glanced around, though he rather liked being so close to Tino without that idiot interfering. He spotted the abandoned picnic and noticed a bottle of wine. He called in a flat voice, "Søren, b'ze ov'r h're."

That caught Søren's attention. He ran back, looking around eagerly. Berwald pointed and Søren retrieved it, coming to sit by them as he opened it. "Man, this is crazy, I'll tell you what. Kind of fun too. Though it's not the most pleasant feeling. And I can't figure out what this thing between my legs- Oh...Oh wait, I get it! That must be my-"

Tino interrupted him. "Prince Søren, what deal did you make with Ari?"

Søren opened the bottle of wine and took a generous drink. "Ah, wonderful. Anyway, let me think. It was a trade. I got legs and he got most of my alcohol tolerance. Though he left me some so I should be fine. He said it was better anyway."

Tino gave him a distressed look as he took another long drink. "Stop drinking that! You're going to get completely drunk if you keep chugging it down that way!"

Søren snorted. "I'll be fine, no worries. Not like it matters. Anyway, there was another part of the contract which was that if the prince gets married I'll turn to sea foam or something like that. So whoever that guy is I just gotta go make sure he doesn't get married. No big deal."

Tino stared at him for a long moment then buried his face in one hand. There wasn't any way Søren could have made a worse deal. He had no idea what he had given away and what a risk he was at. "Prince Søren, Prince Elias is at marrying age!"

Søren gave him a surprised look. "You know about this prince? How is that?"

Tino shrugged. "Plot purposes. But that's not important. The point is you have to find him immediately. For all you know he's already engaged!"

Søren started snickering. "Well, I'll show that Prince Elias a thing or two. I swear on my new feet!"

He burst into a fit of laughter, face beginning to redden. Already he was showing early signs of intoxication. Berwald looked bored by the whole thing. "Y' sh'ld hope f'r th' b'st. 'M sure y' c'n m'ke it on y'r own."

"Damn straight I can! Some human isn't going to get the best of me! Hehe just bring him on, I'mma defeat him no matter what!" Søren collapsed backwards, laughing.

It was a disaster. The crown prince of the kingdom had made a magical contract to get legs and was getting smashed off two mouthfuls of wine.

Tino ignored Søren's drunken babbling and turned to Berwald. "We have to do something about this!"

"Why?"

Tino gave him a pleading look. "Because...because we just do! Maybe we can get Ari to tell us how to reverse it or break the contract but we have to do it before Prince Elias gets married."

Berwald looked at Søren, who was currently trying to drink more wine and only managing to pour some of it down his front. Not only did he not seem to have any alcohol tolerance it was almost like the effects were sped up. "...B'tter off dead I th'nk."

"Berwald!"

Søren snorted. "That Berwald, always a kidder."

The air was suddenly filled with the heavy thud of hooves on the sand. Berwald and Toni retreated a bit behind a rock and peeked out. Tino gasped and whispered loudly to Søren. "Prince Søren, that's Prince Elias! Please, stop trying to drink. This is very important! Tell him...tell him you're a Prince too and try to get on his good side. "

"A pr'nce of ch'ldren," Berwald added very unhelpfully. Tino shot him a look mixed somewhere between despair and irritation.

Staggering to his feet, Søren turned to face this prince. He was going to beat him within an inch of his life...Why was there three of him riding up? He squinted and when the approaching figure came further into focus he realized with a jolt it was the man he had rescued from the boat. All he could do was stare stupidly as he got closer and closer.

Elias stopped short of Søren, his three guards stopping just behind him. He looked contemptuously at Søren, nude, drunk, and covered in wine. "...Are you sick in the head good sir?"

Søren burst out laughing hysterically. "The pretty man is funny! Ya remember me? Eh? Sure gotta pretty face."

He leaned forward to get closer, to try and remind Elias that he had been the one who saved him. Instead he found a boot against his chest which shoved him forcefully away. For a long moment he lie flat on his back, not sure what had happened. "...Eh?"

Elias looked at him in disgust. "Have this man thrown into the dungeon. For public nudity, intoxication, and general stupidity."

One of his guards slid off his horse, roughly lifting Søren up to his feet and dragging him to his horse. "Hey, watch yer hands buddy!"

If it wasn't for the world spinning dramatically and the dull sickness in his stomach he might have shown that guard a real fight. As it was he was tossed unceremoniously onto a horse, which he had never seen up close let alone ridden and found it rather distressing in his current state. "Tinoooo, Berwald! Get me off this thing!"

Elias quickly turned back and Berwald grabbed Tino, pulling him close to his chest and pressing flat against the rock. They both held their breath, almost feeling the cool gaze of the human prince searching the beach and shoreline.

"My lord, are you ready to go now?"

Elias slowly turned his eyes away. The ramblings of a drunken fool, that was all. "Yes, I am ready."

The small group took off, the sound of Søren cursing echoing back for a long time. Tino finally released the breath. "Oh no, this is horrible! We definitely have to do something now! Come on Berwald!"

A moment passed and Tino felt his face grow warm as Berwald refused to release him. "U-um...B-Berwald?"

Berwald leaned in slightly and Tino flinched. "Wh-what? What's wrong?"

He paused then backed off, releasing Tino. "N'thing. S'rry."

Tino let out a relieved breath, face still flushed. "O-oh I see, um...W-we have to..." His thoughts were lost for a moment and he had to gather them. "U-um...Ari! That's right, we have to go see Ari. Let's hurry."

Still feeling a bit flustered, Tino dived into the water. Berwald glanced at the now lonely shore. "...H'pe y' stay th're."

With an irritated flick of his tail he dove beneath the waves to catch up to Tino.

* * *

**AN: **Iceland's eyes are violet in later interpretations but they are said to be blue in early works and apparently the movie? So I went with blue.

Also, I think of Denmark as being more trusting and overly straightforward (and a pinch arrogant) than actually being completely stupid -laughs- So I'm not trying to put him in a bad light or anything.


	4. Chapter 4

Waaah sorry for how long this update took! Life has been so busy lately. Seems I'm always behind on something!

* * *

"But...but there must be something you can do to reverse this!"

Ari looked blankly at Tino. How long had the two been bothering him now? Far too long. How many times had he heard pleas and threats and bribes to change that idiot prince back to his merman self? Far too many times. The only reason he didn't dare do anything to forcefully remove him was because in all actuality he was afraid of what the silent Berwald would do to him. A shiver went down his spine just knowing the large merman never let his eyes waver.

He finally sighed and shook his head. "I told you there is nothing I can do. So long as he wishes for the change it cannot be reversed. The contract is just as binding on my end as it is on his. That is there to guarantee I can't suddenly steal back what has been given for any reason. Most of my kind don't have such things in their contracts and I consider myself generous for the fact that I do."

Perhaps that was something to go on. Tino had finally coaxed a piece of information from the sea warlock. "Does that mean if Søren changes his mind then he'll become a merman again?"

Ari crossed his arms. "Oh no, it's not that simple. If he changes his mind and I consent to it, then I can reverse the magic of the contract. These things are rather difficult to get out of you know."

"But you will consent? If I can get him to change his mind you will turn him back won't you?" Tino looked at him imploringly.

Glancing from Tino's pleading face to Berwald's apathetic one, he raised an eyebrow as he saw Berwald subtly shake his head. "...I will consider it."

Well, it wasn't much but...Tino considered it a start. He didn't look like much but he could potentially take on Ari if he had to in order to convince him. He just wasn't sure what magic he might have and how strong it would be. Still, even if he wasn't on the bigger side he knew how to hold his own and Ari might have magic but he didn't look physically strong. "Good...Well, you keep thinking about that. Come on Berwald, we have to go."

Giving what he hoped was a warning glare, Tino swam out of the cave. It gave him a bad feeling and he was glad to be out of it. Berwald remained where he was for a moment then spoke slowly. "Don't care if y' nev'r turn Søren back, but don't y' do anythin' t' hurt Tino."

Ari's tentacles fidgeted before the intimidating man. "...I have no intention. I only do as I am asked, and only if someone's willing to exchange something for it. ...That includes things for love you know."

Berwald's face only gave the slightest twitch of emotion. "...Isn't love if it's magic."

"Mm, I was just saying it." It wasn't like he could give love either, only means to obtain 'love'.

Grunting, Berwald finally turned and followed Tino out. Ari sighed and shook his head. He never should have helped that idiot prince. If he had known it would be so troublesome he would have just kicked him out on his tail like he almost had. What a headache.

When Tino saw Berwald he felt a twinge of relief. He had been wondering what was taking him so long. As he approached, Tino felt a wave of exhaustion. Swimming around this way and feeling like such little progress was being made... "Do you think we'll be able to sort this all out?"

Berwald blinked at him then put a hand on his head. "'S gunna be alright."

Tino flushed and hesitantly smiled up at Berwald. He could be scary but overall Tino was pretty sure he didn't mean to be... Though his meanness towards Søren was undoubtedly deliberate. "Yeah... I suppose we better go back to the palace for tonight and cover for Søren. We can try to find out what happened to him tomorrow. I hope he's okay."

Why must Tino always worry about that idiot? Berwald's hand slipped back to his side. "Hm."

The two of them returned home in silence. For Tino, his head was filled with concerns and excuses for the prince's absence. For Berwald it was a natural state of being. However, no one questioned them about Søren. It seemed the story had spread fairly quickly thanks to Gilbert no doubt. So just as Tino had started to think they were let off the hook for the night it was only appropriate it was Gilbert himself who finally cornered the pair about it.

"Hey! Hey you two, yeah you! Where is Søren?" Gilbert glanced between the two of them, finally settling on looking at Tino as most tended to do.

Tino looked at him nervously. "I...uh, w-we aren't really sure..."

"Hmph, I mean I figured he would be pretty upset about it...I was gonna maybe offer to help him find some more alcohol. Really lame about what father did to his collection. Aah there was so much too! Mm, well I'm sure he's just off pouting somewhere. I expect he'll show up tomorrow. After all, it's not like Søren to go losing his tail over things."

Tino all but choked at the words. "Y-yeah... I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow..."

Gilbert shrugged. "Ah well. See ya around."

Waving almost dismissively, Gilbert disappeared down the hall. Tino let out a relieved breath. "This is a disaster...It's only a matter of time before someone becomes suspicious. Tomorrow, you'll come with me won't you Berwald? To look for Søren?"

When Tino looked at him so beseechingly how could he ever say no? "...Yep."

Tino brightened a bit. "Thank you... I know he's not your favorite but... I do appreciate it."

"Mm, 's fine." Anything was fine so long as it was for Tino.

And so they retired for the night. The next day was sure to be busy.

~.

Søren woke up with a hangover the size of the ocean. It was an almost unknown phenomenon for him and he found he did not like it. No he did not like it one bit. Everything was fuzzy. What had happened...?

Sitting up, the world spun for a moment then came into overly sharp focus. He held his head and groaned. The sound of laughter made him look up grudgingly.

"Well, well. The King of the Sea seems to have awoken from his royal slumber!"

More laughter. Søren growled softly and forced himself onto his feet. He slumped over for a moment feeling sick then straightened up. He was somewhat taken aback when he saw the bars. "Where...?"

"Oh, the royal fish wants to know where he is! Doesn't seem to remember. Guess sea critters can't hold their liquor!" There was another roar of laughter.

Gritting his teeth, Søren grabbed the bars and held onto them, looking out beyond them. A handful of guards with some sort of lion insignia on their armor stood laughing at him. He didn't like that one bit. "And what do you think you're all laughing at? I'll have you know I'm-"

"Oh yeah," one interrupted loudly. "We heard _all _about it for hours yesterday before you finally passed out on the floor. A right mermaid y'are. No, not just that, royalty! A King Cod!"

Søren clenched the bars, glaring at all of them. "I am not a mermaid, do I look like I have breasts? I'm a merman, and a crown prince!"

There was a moment of silence and then the walls rang with their mocking laughter. "A merman! What a bunch of damned fools we are, how could we make such a mistake!"

Søren spat then spoke, his voice commanding and harsh. "I demand you shut your mouths this instance! I have no patience for such stupidity and my head is killing me!"

He would not tolerate such mockery of his species or his title! While he knew humans were not supposed to know about their kind they were making a big mistake. This was the greatest insult he had ever endured in his life.

The guards' merriment ended abruptly, the atmosphere becoming rather stormy. One of them approached him, glaring into the cell. "We're not the ones behind bars. I'd watch what you say. It's only by Prince Elias's grace that we didn't already rough up your drunken ass and throw you out to sea to see how well you swam."

Søren looked him up and down and decided that even hung over and half naked—he seemed to have acquired a pair of pants which actually he found rather unpleasant on his new skin—there was no way he couldn't take this guy. He snarled at him. "I'm not worried about you. I'm fairly confident I could take on every man here and barely break a sweat."

There was a murmur of angry voices and the guard got closer, his face nearly pressed to the bars. "Is that so? How about we take you up on that? I'm sure Prince Elias will understand we were only doing our duty of keeping the peace."

Søren smirked. "I'm sure he will also understand his guards are too weak but tried their best."

Lip curling up in anger, the guard put his key in the lock and turned it. Søren's fingers flexed in anticipation. The first guard was out for the count before he even knew what hit him.

~.

Elias made his way to the dungeon, annoyed he even had to bother. Apparently there was a ruckus of some sort with that damned drunk he had imprisoned. He had been hoping to keep him in a cell over night then have him released and never have to deal with him again. Seemed it wouldn't be that easy. How irritating.

As Elias and one of his personal guards entered the prison a guard was thrown at their feet. Elias looked from the body to the drunken fool they had picked up the day before. He was breathing heavily and there was a sheen of sweat on him but there was such an intense look, almost a glow in his eyes that it was striking. He was truly enjoying this. 'This' being Elias's guards thrown across the prison, groaning and clutching at various body parts. It was a humiliating sight to him.

Elias narrowed his eyes and turned them up to the other man. Was he going to try and escape? Just let him try, he would- Instead of making towards Elias or the door, he suddenly stumbled to the nearest wall and started to vomit. Elias watched in disgust. What had he really been expecting? "What do you think you're doing?"

Søren groaned miserably. All that physical exertion had not helped his upset stomach at all. Wiping his mouth with his arm he backed up, noticing Elias for the first time. "Oh...The pretty man. I was sort of kicking your guards' asses. They need some better training."

Pretty man... Gritting his teeth, Elias stepped over the body of the guard without a second glance down. "Is that so? I was going to simply release you, was this attack necessary?"

"Necessary? Of course, all physical acts of violence are necessary. But I didn't start it or anything. Well, not really. After all, how do you think I got out? Your guards thought they could rough me up and I proved them wrong. Pretty embarrassing for them if I do say so."

That was even more humiliating to Elias, that his guards would try to beat an admittedly stupid but relatively innocent man. They would be spoken to about it later. But for now he had to deal with the man before him. After all, he couldn't have the fool leaving talking about how weak Elias's men were. It was the same as saying he was weak as far as he was concerned. "What is your name?"

Standing up a bit straighter, Søren couldn't help but smile a bit. "It would be Søren. And I know you're the prince but what is your name again?"

"...You do speak quite flippantly to someone who is 'the prince'. If you must address me it shall be as Prince Elias and nothing less."

And what should Søren care if he was? Maybe he should tell him to address him as Prince Søren. But he was hesitant. The guards had really been mocking him about that and...it was pretty embarrassing to him. If mermaids and merman were nothing more than story fodder or a joke here he might want to keep that to himself from then on if he was going to be taken seriously. "Well...Prince Elias and nothing less, quite pleased to become fully acquainted."

Could this man be any more annoying? "Hmph. Well Søren, I would like you to try and take me down as you have my men." His personal guard started to protest but Elias held up a hand for him to be silent, eyes never wavering from Søren. "I insist upon it."

Did this small, pretty faced guy really think he could take on Søren, even after he had obviously taken down all of his men? Well, he wasn't going to say no if he insisted upon it. Besides, Elias had shown great bravery during that battle that had nearly taken his life and Søren respected that. "Very well."

"Please feel free to take as much time to recover as you need. I wouldn't want you to be at too much of a disadvantage."

Grinning, Søren nodded. "Thanks, that's very generous of you." He took a moment longer to rest and let his stomach stop churning. He still felt pretty damn terrible and all the fighting had made it worse. He could still fight though, no question about that. "Mm, ready."

Elias took a step forward and stood in a defensive stance that looked rather open to Søren, his guard watching warily. Søren watched him for a moment. The room was oddly quiet, some of the fallen soldiers seeming to come out of their stupor and watching tensely.

Interesting. Elias was just a bit too open for it to be a mistake or poor training. He did not move. Søren guessed he wanted him to attack. Probably had something up his sleeve. Looking him over, he finally decided on Elias's weak spot and tensed his body, waiting for the right moment to spring. After a tense pause he rushed at Elias, intending to fake him out then at the last moment strike him. Everything was going according to plan when Elias moved quite suddenly, burying his fist in Søren's stomach.

Clutching at his stomach, Søren collapsed to the ground, stunned. It was a good thing he had already puked or he probably would have done it right then. Elias cracked his knuckles, expression still as blank as it had been before. "Hm, not bad but you're a bit too straight forward, don't you think?"

Gradually Søren started to recover, sitting up. "Y-you... Mm, lot stronger than you look."

Elias tsked. Many underestimated him based upon his looks. "Never say I'm pretty again or I'll break your neck. You are free to leave now."

Grimacing slightly, Søren reached up and grabbed Elias's leg. He couldn't leave, he had to make sure Elias didn't get married. And as he decided he liked him, he didn't much want to kill him if he could help it. Maybe he could just kill any potential brides. Or steal them from him... That could work. "Hey, you really impress me. That's hard to do. So let me stay. Give me something to do, I'll do it."

With obvious disdain Elias looked him over again. Well, it never hurt to help the occasional charity case. "Fine, I suppose. I'll have someone find something for you to do." Something that was far, far away from him preferably. "Now release me at once."

Søren complied, scrambling to his feet as Elias quickly turned to escape the room. He had better things to do with his time. Søren turned and gave a smug grin to those left in the room, who glared back looking less than pleased with how things had turned out. Then he hurried after Elias. "Hey wait! Don't just walk off yet, I wasn't done talking to you. Hey!"

Elias ignored him and kept walking. Did this idiot really have no sense of just who he was talking to? Søren grabbed his arm when he wouldn't stop. It seemed not. Elias quickly put up a hand to his guard again, who had started to draw his sword. "Søren was it? I think perhaps you should be far more conservative in your actions. I have dismissed you, so-"

"Do you not remember me?" Søren might as well let him know that he was the one who had saved him. It might make things go easier for him.

Elias paused for a moment then shook his head. "Trust me, I would remember having met someone as... colorful as yourself."

He tried to brush Søren off again but the taller man would have none of that. "That night, that night during the battle, I'm the one who saved you!"

If Søren had expected some sort of reaction he sure didn't get one. Elias grabbed the hand on his arm and squeezed until he let go. "Indeed. Stay here and I will have someone come give you...some task or another."

With that Elias was off again at a brisk pace. Søren stared after him, mouth agape. "But I...I did save him."

A maid nearby nearly giggled then saw the stricken look on his face. She hesitantly walked over to him and spoke softly. "You and half the kingdom dear."

Søren blinked uncomprehendingly at her. "What do you mean? They did not!"

The maid smiled despite herself. "No, that's not what I meant. Prince Elias tried to find out who saved him, so he could reward that person. Quite a lot of people stepped forward with that very same claim. Can you blame him for not believing? Though if it is you then you should know the right words."

So that was it eh? Bunch of lying bastards. "Right...words?"

She nodded. "Apparently his rescuer said something right after he saved him. So if you did save him you should know. I...I really shouldn't have stopped to talk to you but perhaps I will see you around if you'll be working here."

The maid bowed and hurried off to attend to her other duties. Søren stared after her. What he had said that night after he rescued Elias...No problem then! Let's see... it had been... Oh. Damn.

Søren couldn't remember for the life of him.

* * *

**AN: **So upon reading some comic strips with Sweden I feel like I've been writing his accent a bit strong. I'm toning it down a pinch. Aah I do love him though, bless his intimidating soul~


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys~ Wow it has been forever since I wrote a chapter of this. You can really thank AmWatchingYou for this! I had hit a wall on it and she kept at me until I started thinking about it again -laughs- Here you get a lovely montage of Søren failing, enjoy!

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Søren was still trying to figure out what he had said to Elias when an older pompous looking man appeared, giving him even more clothing to put on. The look on his face was one of disapproval but Søren paid him no mind as he struggled to figure out the strange articles of clothing he was now expected to wear.

"I am here to assign you a task. I was told you are quite good in the physical department and a bit lacking in... well. That physical strength is your strong point. I thought perhaps you could help out in the stables. Come along."

The man continued to talk about boring things that Søren didn't care about and so he largely ignored him as they walked through the castle, mainly taking in the details of this new place. It actually reminded him a lot of the palace at home except less made out of natural formations so much as forced into smooth shapes and perfect angles that Søren found unsightly. The air also had so many strange smells he wasn't used to. Some were pleasant but some made him physically ill as they walked briskly down staircases (which he found very intimidating at first and went down rather slowly) and through way too many hallways to be justified. Walking was so much _harder_ than swimming! It didn't help that he'd just done all that fighting and was still hung over, either.

Søren was actually enjoying all the fresh air until they got closer and closer to these 'stables' the man had been talking about. Oh lord the reek made his stomach churn and he wanted to puke again. The fancy man walked over to talk to some guy as Søren glowered at the creatures who were housed in the stables. Horses... so far his only experience with horses had been being tossed over one while highly intoxicated and violently jostled about on it. Needless to say he was hardly fond of them. He made a face at one.

The stuffy man returned to him. "It's all arranged, then. You shall be working here. Go speak to Erlend and he will give you further instructions on your duties here." He gestured towards the man he had just been speaking to.

Søren crossed his arms tightly. "I refuse to work with these beasts."

The man's jaw tightened and he visually prickled. "I would think, sir, that you are pushing His Majesty's generosity in honoring you with a job at all."

"I never asked for a job! And there's no way I can get along with these things, they're evil!" He would not be demeaned in this way!

Once again the tightening of the jaw. "They are hardly evil. I'm sure you'll get along with them just fine. I will have Erlend show you. Erlend! Bring that horse over!"

Erlend looked at the horse in question and shrugged. It was a wild one but if he wanted to see it... He grabbed its reign and dragged it over, steadying the majestic stud repeatedly to calm it. "He's a handsome one but he'll need some serious discipline to tame him."

Søren's companion knew immediately he had made a poor choice. "Ah, well surely this one is the exception to what is the norm."

"Oh, of course! The rest are very disciplined. We wouldn't accept less. This one is new and if he can be broken in he'll be a fine addition." Erlend patted the horses side and it suddenly reared up, whinnying loudly. "Easy, easy!"

But the horse would not be calmed. It danced backwards then forwards nervously, pulling at the reign sharply. It tugged its head sharply and reared up again. The stuffy man quickly backed away and Søren tensed. He looked into those black, demonic eyes and knew this creature was one of the darkest of all evils. As the horse came down he did the only logical thing. He punched it in the face.

Erlend tugged at the horse's reign again, getting it under control as it stumbled. "What is the matter with you? Who punches a horse!"

Søren cracked his knuckles. He'd do it again, a hundred times if he had to! Once Erlend had the horse safely away he returned looking extremely angry. "I don't think you did any damage, though I'll have to check, but I'm going to say it would most certainly be best if you stayed as far away from this place as you possibly can. And so help me if I find you out here harassing the horses I'll take care of you myself."

Sighing very loudly the boring man returned to Søren's side. "I am so sorry about this. I did not realize he was mentally unsound. I shall find something else for him. I do hope the horse is alright."

Erlend grumbled and turned away abruptly, walking back towards the stables. The connoisseur of dullness turned a sharp look onto Søren. "We shall try placing you elsewhere."

Søren didn't know what they were all so worked up over. He had just possibly saved both of their lives! Still, he was pleased that he wouldn't have to deal with these atrocities. If they were all betrayed by them it was their own fault.

They trekked back towards the castle, taking another path with too many hallways and staircases (going up this time, which was immeasurably worse and exhausting). His misery was interrupted. "Let me think... We have few positions open at the moment. We did recently have to get rid of one of our chefs. Arthur Kirkland, English, which meant he couldn't cook worth a damn."

Søren got the impression that this man thought just about anyone could cook better than this guy. "Um... I can cook."

"_Can_ you?" It was asked with an extremely incredulous air, an eyebrow was raised higher than Søren was aware they could get.

"Oh yes." He could cook. Maybe. He could try anyway. What was cooking?

"Very well, we shall see what can be done with you."

And so they were off to the kitchens which were vast and smelled so good Søren could hardly believe it. His mouth was watering in seconds. Once again the master of disinteresting found someone to speak to, letting the chef know that while Søren claimed to know how to cook, it was highly unlikely and to just give him an easy job if his hunch proved correct. With that he left, assuming he was now free of his burden.

As Søren was approached by what he guessed was one of these 'cook' things, he couldn't help but note how large his arms were. He belonged on a battlefield, not in this mystical haven of good smells. He was hardly paying attention so when he was asked if he could make a simple loaf of grovbrød he simply nodded and found himself left to his own devices as others hustled and bustled on their own busy tasks.

Totally lost as to what was expected of him, Søren began to walk around a bit aimlessly. There were all these weird things... white powders, ground up herbs that made him sneeze when he smelled them, knives that seemed like poor weapons when they were all sheathed the way they were. It wasn't for a few minutes that he suddenly realized the entire place was filled with food. The variety of fish particularly caught his attention, made his mouth water all over again.

After finding a couple of particularly tempting specimens, Søren slunk off to a corner and started eating happily. It wasn't as fresh as he was used to it being but still, not too bad. He had finished a couple of them off when he suddenly found the cook man standing in front of him looking rather angry. He smiled at him. "Something the matter?"

The chef's face went incredibly red and he pointed to the fish Søren was happily munching on. "What do you think you're doing with those?"

"Eating them! Why, what else would I do with them?" Maybe the fish were meant for someone else.

"Those were part of dinner! Can you actually cook or are you just here to eat, you lazy bastard?"

"Well, what else _would_ you do withfood? I mean it's just laying around everywhere..."

"Make things with it!"

"Make..." Søren tilted his head slightly. "How?" Did he mean like accessories or something? Not much could be done with fish unless someone wanted to go through the painstaking effort of peeling off their scales and doing something with them.

"They really sent me an idiot this time. That bastard, dumping me with you! You can't stay in here! Someone go get that pompous bastard and bring him back to get rid of him— Would you stop eating that!"

Søren munched on the fish, watching the cook with a blank look on his face. He was the one that sounded stupid, not handing out this perfectly good food. The cook ranted angrily and someone finally ran out of the room quickly to fetch the man. Not too much later he arrived looking more than a little irritated. His mood was hardly sweetened when the chef began screaming at him until he was red in the face about not bringing him people who couldn't do anything but eat their supplies.

Chewing happily on some fish bones, Søren followed the incredibly dull fellow away from the kitchen with a friendly wave. He still didn't understand what the big deal was but he felt much better now after having eaten, even if it had created a fuss (for some reason).

Suddenly he found a bucket being shoved into his hands, water sloshing out to soak into his shirt. "I assume you can at least figure out how to scrub the floors! Now stay out of trouble and out of everyone's way!"

With that Søren found himself utterly alone. How odd. Why did that strange man keep giving him tasks to do? He had no idea. Something Elias wanted? Strange. As he had said earlier, he'd hardly asked for one. Actually he found all of this mostly pointless for him. He hadn't done much of anything but fight before coming up here.

How...how did cleaning work? Søren set down the bucket and reached in to pull out a brush. He grimaced. The water felt wrong. It was hard to describe, it just did. Like it was too smooth. Søren stared at the brush, then at the bucket of water, then at the floor. Clean... clean. Clean? He dropped the brush on the floor, water scattering from where it landed. He tilted his head then determined it looked clean enough to him. All done! They should really think of living underwater instead. There was some corrosion maintenance to take care of as well as general wear and tear repair, but no one did anything like this.

Job completed, Søren sat down and began to try and remember again exactly what he had said. He remembered the sense of urgency, of saving Elias. Bringing him onto the beach... Whatever he had said had been unimportant to him, probably something meant to sound comforting. It hadn't stuck in his memory at all. Instead of remembering he fell asleep, pressed uncomfortably against the hard wall.

An undetermined amount of time later he was roughly shaken. The man he had come to dislike very much was frowning down at him. "You haven't cleaned at all!"

"Mm? Yes I did. Besides, don't you have more important things than making sure some big old castle has clean floors? They'll just get dirty again." He yawned, cracking his neck. Now his body was stiff in a way it had never been before and he didn't much care for it.

"You are the most frustrating-!" The paragon of tediousness took a deep breath. "I shall find a task you are...suited for. Until then please just try to stay out of the way!" He gave Søren directions to the soldier quarters, not bothering to make sure he knew where that was. Hopefully he'd get into a fight and the soldiers would run him out or he'd just wander off and never come back to darken his day again. He had better things than to try and find a task for a good for nothing.

As he turned to leave Søren called out to him. "Hey, you! I want to talk to Elias! Where can I find him?"

The man whirled around. "You shall refer to him as his Majesty Prince Elias, and if he desires to see you then he shall summon you. Now go make yourself scarce!" With that he stomped away.

Søren scratched the back of his head. "What an asshole."

He sighed and looked out the window. The sun was already pretty low in the sky. He must've been sleeping for a long time. With a sort of misery he started wandering around, mapping the place out for future reference. Overall he was ignored, just another face among many. It was sort of nice actually, being invisible for once. But it was also lonely. Søren found himself outside and began to walk towards the sea. He climbed cautiously down a rocky area. He was clumsy at it, never having had to do such a thing in his life and at one point he fell, scraping his hands and knees painfully. It didn't help that it was already dark now, the stars and half-moon his only guides.

Once he reached the water's edge he stripped down and entered until it came up to above his waist, water stinging his wounds pleasantly. The waves felt good, rocking him with their soothing motion. It took some of the weight off of him. Gravity worked much differently outside of water and his body felt a discomfort that had once been unknown. Aching and alone, Søren was starting to wonder if this had been worth it.

No, that was a defeated way of thinking! One day on the land wouldn't be enough to have him running back home. Even if there were things he missed already that didn't mean there weren't limitless things to explore. He'd make the best out of his situation. Today he'd already learned that he hated horses, didn't know how to cook (whatever that was), and that he didn't seem to clean up to standard.

"Prince Søren!"

Søren turned his head abruptly, eyes searching the dark water for the source of the familiar voice. "Tino?"

A moment later Tino's form became distinct in the low light. Søren laughed aloud and waded out further, kicking his feet to remain still. It was difficult without his tail but he managed. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Tino came closer, taking Søren's hand. "I'm so relieved to see you my lord! I've been worried sick."

"Ah, you don't need to worry about me Tino! What are you doing here, anyway?" It was definitely a pleasant surprise to find him here, though.

"I wanted to check on you, talk to you. Berwald is doing damage control and making excuses for your absence." At least Tino hoped he was. He wouldn't be surprised if he was actually making things a thousand times worse. He seemed to love messing up Søren. "How...how have you been getting along?"

"Mm... well... Not the best day but it could've been worse. I got to fight some guys. That was pretty fun. The rest of the day was sort of a bust. Also I can't remember what I said to Elias when I saved him and apparently he won't believe it was me until I do."

Tino sighed. Of course Søren would forget something so completely important. "So Elias isn't being friendly?"

Søren smiled. "Oh no, we're friends!"

"Y-you are?" Tino's eyes widened. That was good news actually.

"Yep, sure are! He acts a lot like Berwald! You know, always the kidder, acting all unfriendly when he doesn't mean it." He laughed cheerfully even as Tino's heart sank.

"Oh..." Søren really was terrible at reading people. "U-um... Listen, Prince Søren, there is something you must know! I have talked to Ari and-"

"You talked to him? Kind of a strange one, but he sure is cute. Sort of like you! Are you going to make some sort of deal with him? Hey! Get yourself some legs and then you can hang out with me!"

"N-no, nothing like that! I was talking about your contract with him. Prince Søren, he'll break it and give you back your tail! You just have to be willing to come back." Tino only hoped he hated it up here.

"Oh?" It was sort of a relief to know he had an out, but... "That's pretty nice of you to find out for me but I'm definitely not ready to even think about if I ever want to go back. It's only been a day!"

"Please, Prince Søren! You're the crown prince. You're not just abandoning your family, you're abandoning the entire kingdom! You have to be responsible sometimes, even if it's not very fun. How do you think everyone will feel once they have heard you've run off because you felt like drinking all day?" Tino may have looked timid—and could be around Berwald—but he was strong. It was why Søren had decided he liked him so much.

"...Well when you put it like that... But that's not the only reason I left y'know. It's not like I don't know I'm acting selfish. But come on, look how many brothers I have. They don't need me, and I know father doesn't really want me to inherit the throne. Maybe I sort of want to figure out what I feel like doing with my life, not just what I'm told to do. If I really decide I can't stand it up here, I'll come back and never complain about it again."

Tino didn't know what to say to that. Sometimes Søren said things that made Tino realize that he actually thought about these sort of things. Søren was irresponsible but he wasn't a bad sort, really. Even if he was going to drive Tino to an early deep sea grave. "Alright... If you really have to then go ahead. Though we won't be able to cover for you forever."

"I know, I'm not asking you to." Søren grinned at him, grateful for his concession. "Just tell them there was nothing you could do."

That was definitely the truth. "Prince Søren, if you insist on staying up here I think you need to at least get close to the prince. Er, get closer to him. To try and prevent him from marrying while you're still thinking things over."

"Make him like me more?" Søren had definitely never thought about it but... "So you think I should try to get him to fall in love with me? Kind of extreme don't you think?"

"What?" Tino absolutely couldn't figure out Søren's jump in logic. He hadn't meant romantically, he'd meant make it so that Elias at least didn't hate his guts so he could be in the same room as him!

"Well, I dunno if he'd go for that but I guess I could always give it a shot. He seems like the type that doesn't really fall in love but sure, yeah! I'll give it a try." If nothing else it would be sort of fun, maybe. Not that he'd actively ever tried to do that before. "I need to figure out how to get to him, though. Søren, crown prince and son of the great Germania, does _not _wait on others for an audience!"

He was sure that Elias wouldn't mind seeing him anyway, it was just all the other people that were getting in the way.

Tino wasn't sure if he should wish him luck or cry. He was definitely leaning towards crying. "R-right... I'm sure you can do it. I-I'd like to keep in touch with you to see how things are going. Can you meet me here again tomorrow night around the same time?"

"Sure, no problem! Hey uh, thanks for coming out to see me Tino. I really appreciate it. It perked me up a bit." Søren flashed him a bright smile.

"...It was nothing. I am just glad I can help in any way possible. Please take care of yourself and...and don't do anything too hasty? I will see you tomorrow night. Next time I might bring Berwald." Then again, that might be its own disaster.

"I'd like that! And you don't have to worry about me, I know what I'm doing. See you later."

Tino gave him an uncertain look then nodded and sank below the surface. Søren paddled back towards the shore. Tino's visit had made him feel so much better. He grabbed his clothes, throwing them over his damp skin. They clung oddly and he didn't like it at all. Why did they all wear these things anyway? It was much more comfortable and natural to wear nothing at all unless it was some form of armor.

Søren returned the castle and grabbed himself another fish from the kitchen for dinner. He couldn't at all remember where he was supposed to go to sleep and so wandered around for a while, finally ducking into an available bed after stripping again. Huh... this was sort of comfortable. Much softer than what he'd slept on at home. Sort of warm and fluffy and... yeah, he liked this a lot. He smiled and snuggled deeper into the bed.

Feeling more at peace, he fell into a deep sleep. The woman whose room it was, a guest and the youngest niece of one of the higher ups at the castle, arrived late in the night, sometime before dawn, after a forbidden tryst with a soldier that had lasted through most of the night. She gasped loudly when she pulled back the covers and slipped beneath them in the dark only to find herself in bed with a stranger. When he woke up, regarded her sleepily, then asked if she'd like to have sex, she screamed bloody murder.

And so Søren's first day as a human was concluded.

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**AN: **For the record I like horses -laughs- Also, I finally decided to throw in a reference to Arthur in the story just because the English do have some Germanic blood in their background.

grovbrød - A common type of bread in Norway.


End file.
